Chia

Subscription billing for mobile money in Africa. Chia handles payment collection, automated renewals, and merchant payouts - so businesses can focus on their product.

Three Ways to Use Chia

Layer	What it does	Who it's for
Chia Platform	Managed billing - sign up, create plans, share a link, get paid	Any business
Chia SDK	TypeScript SDK for direct provider API access	Developers building custom integrations
Chia MCP	AI assistant tools for payment operations	AI-powered workflows

Quick Start: Chia Platform (No Code)

The fastest way to start collecting subscription payments:

1. Sign up at chia.africa
2. Create a plan - set the name, price, and billing interval
3. Share your storefront link - subscribers pay via mobile money
4. Get paid - Chia collects payments and sends you your earnings weekly

No provider API keys needed. No code required. Chia handles collection via PayChangu, PawaPay, and OneKhusa, tracks your balance, and disburses your earnings on a weekly schedule. A flat 3% fee per successful transaction.

Quick Start: Chia SDK (For Developers)

For developers who want direct access to provider APIs with their own accounts:

npm install @chiahq/sdk
# or
pnpm add @chiahq/sdk
# or
yarn add @chiahq/sdk

import { ChiaSDK } from "@chiahq/sdk";

const sdk = ChiaSDK.initialize({
  paychangu: {
    secretKey: process.env.PAYCHANGU_SECRET_KEY,
    environment: "DEVELOPMENT",
  },
  pawapay: {
    jwt: process.env.PAWAPAY_JWT,
    environment: "DEVELOPMENT",
  },
  onekhusa: {
    apiKey: process.env.ONEKHUSA_API_KEY,
    apiSecret: process.env.ONEKHUSA_API_SECRET,
    organisationId: process.env.ONEKHUSA_ORGANISATION_ID,
    environment: "DEVELOPMENT",
  },
});

// PayChangu - initiate a hosted checkout
const payment = await sdk.paychangu.initiatePayment({
  amount: "1000",
  currency: "MWK",
  tx_ref: "order-123",
  callback_url: "https://your-app.com/webhook",
  return_url: "https://your-app.com/success",
  email: "customer@example.com",
});

// PawaPay - request a mobile money deposit
const deposit = await sdk.pawapay.deposits.sendDeposit({
  depositId: "unique-deposit-id",
  amount: "100.00",
  currency: "ZMW",
  payer: {
    type: "MMO",
    accountDetails: {
      phoneNumber: "260971234567",
      provider: "MTN_MOMO_ZMB",
    },
  },
});

// OneKhusa - initiate a collection
const collection = await sdk.onekhusa.collections.initiateRequestToPay({
  amount: 500,
  currency: "MWK",
  phone: "+265991234567",
  paymentMethod: "MOBILE_MONEY",
});

Never commit production API keys to version control. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.

Supported Providers

• PayChangu - Payment gateway with the widest coverage in Malawi (direct charge, mobile money, bank transfers)
• PawaPay - Mobile money payments across 20+ African countries (deposits, payouts, refunds)
• OneKhusa - Collections and disbursements focused on Malawi and Southern Africa

MCP Server

npm install -g @chiahq/mcp

# or run directly with npx
npx @chiahq/mcp

See the MCP documentation for configuration with Claude Desktop and other AI assistants.

Type Imports

All types are re-exported from the package root - no deep imports needed:

import type {
  PayChanguOperatorsResponse,
  PawaPayTypes,
  OneKhusaTypes,
} from "@chiahq/sdk";

SDK Features

PayChangu - Direct charge payments, mobile money collections and payouts, bank transfers, transaction verification, operator listing

PawaPay - Deposit requests, single and bulk payouts, refunds, wallet balances, network configuration and availability checks, provider prediction

OneKhusa - Request-to-pay collections, single and batch disbursements, approval workflows (approve, review, reject), fund transfers, transaction listing with filters

Getting Provider API Keys (SDK / BYOK Mode)

If you're using the SDK directly or connecting your own provider accounts, you'll need API credentials:

PawaPay - Create a developer account at pawapay.io. Complete onboarding, then get your API token from the dashboard. Use the sandbox environment for testing.

PayChangu - Create a merchant account at paychangu.com. Complete business verification, then get your secret key from the dashboard. Configure webhook URLs for payment notifications.

OneKhusa - Contact OneKhusa for API access. You will receive an API key, secret, and organisation ID.

Project Structure

packages/sdk/       TypeScript SDK
packages/mcp/       MCP server for AI assistants
examples/           Usage examples
.github/workflows/  CI/CD and release automation

Development

# install dependencies
pnpm install

# build the SDK
pnpm --filter @chiahq/sdk build

# build the MCP server (builds SDK first)
pnpm --filter @chiahq/sdk build && pnpm --filter @chiahq/mcp build

# run SDK tests
pnpm --filter @chiahq/sdk test

# lint and format (SDK)
pnpm --filter @chiahq/sdk lint
pnpm --filter @chiahq/sdk format

Releases

The project uses GitHub Actions for automated releases. Each package has its own workflow:

Package	Workflow	Tag format	npm package
SDK	release-sdk.yml	v{version}	@chiahq/sdk
MCP	release-mcp.yml	mcp-v{version}	@chiahq/mcp

Release types: patch (bug fixes), minor (new features), major (breaking changes), beta (pre-release).

Documentation

• SDK README - SDK overview and API reference
• MCP README - MCP server setup and usage
• MCP Installation Guide - Detailed MCP setup
• API Documentation - Full API reference
• Examples - Working code examples
• Changelog - Version history

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read the Contributing Guide before submitting a pull request.

By participating in this project you agree to abide by the Code of Conduct.

Security

If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it responsibly. See the Security Policy for details.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for the full text.